Revenge - A McRoll in the REAL World Story
by Mari217
Summary: Steve and Catherine take lead on a Murder/Suicide to buffer Danny from a too close to home situation, but it's close to home for Steve & Catherine as well.


_This is my first case fic in many years, and the first one done I've for Five-0._

_McRollers, thanks, as always, for the support & love._

Sammy & Ilna for making this more fun than I'd ever dreamed.

_Sammy, extra thanks for reviewing this one to make sure my case didn't have more holes than Swiss cheese! Ilna, thanks for the read through and for catching the errors I missed! _

_Hugs to all, Mari_

_And now … _

_._

**_Revenge (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)_**

.

**McGarrett/Rollins Residence  
Monday, 6:00 a.m.**

Already dressed for work, Catherine exited the house and stood on the beach. An admiring smile graced her lips as she watched Steve's agile form break the surface of the ocean. When he looked her way, she waved him in. "We've got a case." She called as soon as he was close enough to shore to hear.

Steve shook his head, sloughing off water like a dog, as Catherine said, "Danny called. He'll pick you up in twenty."

Steve grabbed his towel from the chair and placed a kiss on Catherine's lips, careful not to soak her. "I was just wondering where you were. Thought you were gonna join me."

"Your phone rang just as I was coming outside so I went back in to shower and dress. Looks like a possible murder/suicide." They walked inside and Catherine stopped to pour coffee into two travel cups. "Do you want me at HQ to coordinate, or at the scene?"

Steve was already halfway up the stairs, "The scene. Get Max there, too."

By the time Catherine reached the bedroom, Steve was already in the shower. She poked her head into the bathroom. "I'm leaving now; I called Max and CSU." She holstered her weapon and grabbed her badge, keys and purse. "There's a coffee and a couple of energy bars on your night table. See you in a bit."

"Thanks, Cath." He called as she dashed down the stairs.

.

**Crime Scene  
7:00 a.m.**

Steve and Danny entered the parking lot of the high-rise office building by ducking under crime tape. "Kono!" Steve waved her over. "What have we got?"

"Max thinks this one's a jumper. Driver's license in the purse Chin and Catherine found upstairs I.D.s her as Caroline Warner, age 35." Kono nodded toward a body covered by the M.E.'s tarp. "Chin's upstairs with Catherine and the second body," she pointed to the broken window, stories up "they …" She was interrupted by her cell.

"Yeah, Chin. Just got here." She turned to Steve "They need you upstairs, Boss."

Before Steve could take a step, Max walked up to them. "Gentlemen."

"Max, what's it look like?" Steve asked.

"Upon preliminary examination, it appears to be a suicide. I will know more, of course, once I perform the autopsy." Max lifted the tarp to expose the face of the dead woman. "C.O.D. is definitely the fall. Time of death: approximately one hour ago, which coincides with the calls Sergeant Lukela said came in this morning from passersby. The body in the office upstairs is that of a 35 to 40 year old Caucasian male. That death was due to exsanguination from a stab wound to the neck, which nicked an artery."

"Thanks, Max. Danny, take a look at this, I'll see what they found upstairs." Steve headed inside the building.

/

Steve entered the office suite marked:

_Joseph "JoJo" Lally – Paradise Rentals – Suite 202 _

to find Chin and a second body. It was lying next to a chair; the office carpet around it darkened by still-spreading blood seepage. "What have we got?"

"Hey." Chin looked up from the laptop on the victim's glass desk. "Our vic is one Joseph 'Jo-Jo' Lally. Yet another realtor specializing in local rentals. Seems he was in a vicious custody battle with the alleged jumper, Caroline Warner."

"Recently divorced?" Steve squatted to lift the M.E.'s tarp. A decorative letter opener protruded from the neck of the dead man, embedded deeply enough that it stood firm at a 45 degree angle to the shoulder

"Never married." Chin nodded at the screen. "According to the court documents on his laptop, Lally and Warner had one child, age two. Seems they'd been casually dating for a few weeks when Warner got pregnant. Lally moved in for a while, but moved out right after the birth. He never missed a support payment and was suing for physical custody of their son, Will." Chin's eyes flicked to a framed photo on the desk in which a smiling Lally, wearing boardies, held a laughing toddler on the beach. He sighed, and then stood. "I'm going to run these back to HQ," Chin held up a flash drive "Lally's financials."

"Good. Have Kono back track both victims' email histories, too." Steve looked up from his position near the body as Catherine came in from the adjoining room.

"Cath, look at this." Steve lifted the tarp further off the body, his brows knitted in thought.

Knowing what he was indicating, she replied, "Yeah, that's _really_ deep. Caroline Warner was about my height and it looks like Lally was about six one, so she'd have had to pull way back and lunge to sink it almost to the handle. And at that angle, he would have had to be seated." Cath indicated the toppled desk chair a foot away from the body. "She didn't look that strong."

"Exactly." Steve stood and let the tarp fall back over the victim. He nodded to the M.E. techs and they stepped in to remove the body. "What if the vic _helped_? C'mere." He motioned Catherine over to a second chair and sat down.

"Here." He held out his knife. "Aim for my chest. Don't adjust your attack when I move. Stab like you're untrained; don't anticipate and correct accordingly."

Catherine stood two feet away, and with the closed knife, brought her arm over her head and then forward at Steve, who suddenly moved to stand. "See? What if I see you coming and make a move to get up?"

"That's it." Catherine agreed. Steve moving to stand as her arm came down caused her to not only hit high - his neck as opposed to his chest - but his upward motion would have created the extra momentum needed to embed the blade deeper than the assailant would have been able to do on her own. "He saw her coming."

/

**Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. **  
**HQ**

Danny grimaced as he spoke. "All custody battles are analogous to some degree, and _no one_ knows better than me how ugly things can get, but to _kill_ your child's other parent _and_ yourself?" He paced the room, shaking his head. "Warner left her kid an orphan. Something's off. She seemed like a good mom from what we've gathered. Primary school teacher, 'mommy and me' play group member, a few dates here and there: dinners, movies, whatever, but nothing that would red flag her as a time bomb ready to kill her ex."

Danny always felt deeply when kids were involved in any of their cases. The little guy being cared for by a cousin of Warner's brought out his protective side in spades. He'd even asked Catherine to run a check on the cousin to make sure the woman came up clean before he could relax even slightly about the baby's placement.

"It looks like the only increased contact Warner had in the last week has been with her attorney, three email addresses, and these two phone numbers." Kono put the records up on the screen as the team stood around her. "Clare Banks and Patricia Taylor. Clare is a twenty nine year old IT analyst and Patricia is a forty five year old mom of two who's a civilian employee at Pearl-Hickam. Her husband Mark is a Lieutenant Commander due for deployment, but he's currently on Maui for a series of meetings with civilian contractors. All three women got emails from the same IP address; all under different sender's names. Seems they were being asked for money to remove web content. Looks like a blackmail attempt."

Steve ran a hand through his hair. "Danny and I will interview Banks. Catherine, go talk to Taylor, let's see why they were suddenly in constant touch with Warner. Chin, run down that website, find the webmaster. The blackmail scheme may be what put this whole thing in motion. Kono, when you're finished tracing the emails, go talk to Mark Taylor, see what he can tell us about his wife's new friends."

"On it, Boss." Kono walked to her office to grab her go bag. "Hey, Cath?" She called over her shoulder.

"Yeah?" Catherine caught up to her friend.

"Favor? I'm expecting a delivery tomorrow; can you sign for it and keep it in your office?"

Since any of the team could do the same, Catherine tilted her head as she said "Sure, what…"

Before Kono cut her off with a hushed "It's a gift for Chin's birthday. It's got be signed for and I don't trust that Danny won't give it away and Steve won't believe it's just a gift and try to disarm it…" She joked and the women shared a smile.

"Got it, no problem." Catherine smiled and left Kono to arrange her flight.

/

**Patricia Taylor's home**

"Come in, please, and call me Patty." If a casting director was looking for a 'soccer mom' Patricia Taylor would have nailed the role. A petite 5' 3" with a blond bob and a few extra ponds that stayed on after each of her kids, she had an open face and wide green eyes. "Thank you for agreeing to meet me here. I didn't want to discuss this at work, for obvious reasons."

"No problem, Ma'am," Catherine took a seat on the armchair Patty waved her toward and waited for the woman to begin.

"As I told you on the phone, I'm sorry, is it Officer? Or Lieutenant Rollins?"

"Catherine is fine." Cath smiled encouragingly.

"Okay, Catherine. Last week I got an email with a link to a website. I opened it up and there's a few … compromising photos of me from a long, long time ago, along with some personal information like my cell number and my birth date. Then I get another email that says if I want them taken down, I could pay for that _service_." Patty scoffed.

Catherine took note of her open expression and her mannerisms. Patty Taylor was more annoyed than scared of the blackmail threat and Cath mentally put her low on their suspect list.

"Listen, the photos on that site?" Taylor smiled remorsefully, "Yes, they're me. Yes, I allowed them to be taken. It was a lifetime ago. So, I'm topless, but am I gonna pay some freak to remove them? No. Do I want my kids to see them? _Hell_ no, but if they do, lesson learned. Don't do stupid things like that. My kids are over 21. My husband knows; I called him right away in case he got an email from the blackmailer." Patty shook her head.

"You are the exact opposite of what a blackmailer wants in a victim, Ma'a… I mean Patty." Catherine told her truthfully. "You told the person who matters most about the situation yourself. You took away the blackmailer's power."

Patty gave a small but genuine smile this time. "Yeah, well, Mark and I will be married 23 years next month. We trust each other. I let a college boyfriend take a few topless photos. I wasn't doing porn or turning tricks and like I said, it was lifetime ago. Mark was very concerned that I'd be upset. Otherwise, he was fine."

"You're a lucky woman."

"Yes, yes I am." Patty shrugged. "Everyone's got skeletons, mine are nothing compared to most." She rose and handed Catherine a paper she'd been holding. "Here's the email thread. I told that little freak that my husband certainly didn't supply him with any photos and the ex who took them? If Dean Hughes needs cash that badly at our age he can go bark up another tree." She chuckled. "I never heard another word, but I called the cops. Not for me, but to shut him down from doing this to anyone else. Someone with more to lose."

"We're glad you did, it may help us in a homicide investigation. Two people, Caroline Warner and her ex-boyfriend, Joseph Lally are dead. It was Abby Banks' sister, Clare contacting you, and your report to HPD that helped us connect the cases. Can you tell me anything about Clare and Abby Banks?

"Just Clare, really. She was trying to find the blackmailer and draw him out herself, so she contacted me and Caroline Warner, because our photos were also up on the site. I offered to go with Clare to the police, I told her I'd already contacted HPD and emailed the guy he could go to hell. I also told her I thought it was a bad idea to try and get her own evidence and she should leave it to the police." Patty shook her head. "I hope you catch whoever is behind the site. And certainly catch whoever killed Caroline and her ex. I did a little googling myself. Apparently, revenge porn sites, as they call them, aren't all that uncommon these days."

Catherine nodded. She'd done some research before her interview and found quite a bit of information on sites where people were trying to humiliate others by posting private images. "Unfortunately that's true, but we'll do our best to get whoever's behind this one." She told Patty and stood to leave.

"Good luck, and if you need anything else from me, I'll be happy to help." Patty said as she walked Catherine out.

/

**Clare Banks' Home**

**2:00 p.m.**

"…and so I contacted the other women, figuring if we got together enough evidence and went to the police … my sister's only 20, this could ruin her chances of getting a job…" Clare Banks sighed. The tall, thin young woman with cropped brown hair and blue eyes was clearly distraught. "I can't believe Caroline's dead. She was really, really freaked. She was fighting her ex for custody of their son, so you can understand…" She trailed off.

Danny nodded and glanced between Clare and Steve. "I do. She was afraid she'd be judged unfit. That's why she didn't want you to tell anyone, not even the police."

Clare's red rimmed eyes met Danny's. "Exactly. When she found out her ex was the one who gave those images to the site, she went ballistic. Said she was going to confront him. I begged her to let me come along but she said she had to do it alone." She shook her head. "Now they're both dead and her son's got neither parent. I never should have contacted her."

"Ms. Warner's death isn't your fault, but we are going to need to talk to your sister." Steve said.

"Yeah, I know." She sighed. "She'll be home tonight from visiting our folks. When I got that link in my email, I tried to stop it all before she knew. They're camping; Abby didn't have email there so I intercepted her account. When Caroline Warner begged me and Patty to not tell the police, I offered to pay the scumbag something just to buy time. I knew he'd ask for more eventually and I figured when he did, then I'd have evidence for the police, and he'd get caught. That's the only reason I paid, Commander, Detective." Clare fidgeted on the chair, her hands picking at the upholstered arm.

Steve stood and Danny followed suit. "Thank you. We'll talk to Abby and if we need to speak to you again, we'll be in touch."

Clare nodded and stood as well. "I really am sorry about Caroline. Is her son…?" She let the sentence fade.

"He's with her cousin. She'll get custody." Danny answered, knowing what Clare was thinking. "Sit. We'll see ourselves out." He and Steve left to head back to HQ. Steve had gotten a text from Catherine that there was info to share.

/

**HQ  
3:45 p.m.**

Steve and Danny entered the bullpen to see Chin and Catherine at the smart table. "What did you get?

Chin spoke first. "This …" a driver's license appeared on the screen, "Is Bud Erikson. Age 27. He's the creator of the website. He's a local guy, grew up on the big island, but after high school bounced around to three colleges before dropping out altogether. Last one was UCLA. Computer science major, but not a genius or anything. Parents have some money but they cut him off when he left UCLA without officially dropping out. That cost them the tuition and made his GPA zero in all his registered classes."

Steve shook his head. "Seems like Mom and Dad got fed up." When Chin agreed, he continued "so no more cash from the folks and his 'ten years to a four year degree' plan went bust." Steve said with disgust at the wasted opportunity.

"Exactly, so he stumbles onto sites like this run by others, and he figures he can cash in. The first person he contacted was his own ex, a Hillary Brite. She's a local too, went to Kukui."

"Did she contact the police?" Catherine inquired.

"No." Chin shrugged. "She had her brother and a couple of cousins pay Mr. Erikson a visit. When he was released from Queens, she never heard from him again and her photos are no longer on the site. I only found reference to them by hacking into an encrypted page."

Catherine turned to Steve, "What did Clare Banks tell you?" Steve and Danny filled her and Chin in as she placed the thumb-drive in the port.

"Okay, so it seems we have three current victims. The first was Caroline Warner." Catherine put up a photo of the dead woman. "And this is Patty Taylor," a second photo joined the first. "She told me she received emailed links and threats but refused to pay. Taylor told the blackmailer to 'go right ahead', she didn't have anything to hide and the emails stopped. Taylor was contacted by Clare Banks after she went to HPD, that's how we made the connection between the women and the website."

"Banks was the last person the blackmailer had contact with. Clare," a final image filled the screen; the driver's license of a woman in her late 20s who looked much younger, "who you said was paying to stop her younger sister, Abby from going through the humiliation. It was Clare who contacted both Patty Taylor and Caroline Warner."

"Right," Steve said. "Clare's an IT pro and traced the IPs of the other victims before she tried to contact the blackmailer." Catherine nodded.

"What about Banks' sister?" Catherine turned to ask Danny.

"Abby Banks. She was visiting their parents in Ohio, she got home today." Danny clenched and unclenched his fists. "She was the actual victim, but she was away and her sister got one of the 'look at this' revenge site emails. Clare jumped in and tried to make it go away, but it snowballed. Clare told us everything she knew." Danny let out an exhausted sigh. "Abby's back as of this morning. We explained to Clare that we'd need to talk to her sister and she said Abby had been shocked that this was bigger than just her asshole of an ex."

Catherine delivered the info she'd gotten from the FBI cyber-crimes unit, "It's much bigger, actually. The site is called a revenge-porn site."

Steve looked incredulous. "A _what!?"_

"There's been quite a few popping up in the last few years," She continued, "Photos and videos of victims are posted along with their full names and additional information like their location, occupation, contact info. The owner of one of the first sites claimed it was like Facebook with legal 'user-generated content.'"

Steve and Danny shared a look of disgust as Catherine continued. "Ex-boyfriends, ex-husbands, ex-girlfriends use it to cyber-attack former partners. To personally and professionally humiliate them by revealing the victim's personal, intimate images and information. And in some cases, if a person is judged an unfit parent because of pornographic content on the internet, or fired, or has a current partner dump her or him – to destroy their lives."

"How the hell is that legal?" Steve asked.

"It's legal in every state but California and New Jersey. A person shares explicit material with a partner, and boom. Months or _years _later, usually after a bad breakup, there they are online. Most times posted with the person's name, address and phone number.

In this case, the web master was offering to take down the photos in exchange for $5,000. Other states are considering whether to make it illegal to post sexually explicit images without the person's permission. But some groups are citing the First Amendment to keep it legal."

"If anyone posted as much as a school photo of Grace without my permission I'd rip their hands off." Danny was incensed. "How is this guy still breathing and we have two bodies in the morgue?"

Steve turned to Catherine, "What do we have on Abby Banks?"

"She's a good kid. No trouble with the law, scholarship student. Seems like the ex, a Johnny Oonishi was her first real boyfriend." When Catherine put the next image on the screen, she and Chin both cringed, Steve sucked in a sharp breath, and the color drained from Danny Williams' face, leaving him paler than usual. From her spot between Danny and Steve at the smart table, Catherine placed a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Danny…"

"I'm good. I'm good, Cath, thanks." Danny gave her a tight smile and nod, briefly squeezing the hand that rested on his shoulder before he ran his own hand over his tired eyes. He was surprised to find it as steady as it was.

The girl on the screen above them, smiling out from a school portrait was, although clearly six or seven years older, a dead ringer for Grace Williams.

Catherine glanced from Danny to Steve and while Danny's face was white as a ghost, Steve's was set like stone. His eyes blazed with loathing and a muscle twitched in his jaw. Catherine caught his eyes and he silently told her to continue. "This was Abby Banks' high school photo, she's twenty now. Seems her ex, Oonishi, decided she deserved to be punished for daring to dump him. This was after _he_ cheated on _her_, of course. So he posted a video he made of the two of them."

"How … bad?" Steve ground out.

"Bad enough." She cringed. "Not a lot left to the imagination." She felt Steve shift closer until they were touching slightly; his hip barely in contact with hers. Whether it was to give comfort or seek it, Catherine wasn't quite sure, but Steve's touch always grounded her and she pressed back almost imperceptibly, hoping to provide the same support for him. "I ran through the screen caps from the site. Do we have to view …?" She cast a look at Steve, indicating Danny with her eyes.

"No." Steve stopped her with his hand on hers. "It's okay. We've seen enough."

"Damn right we have." Danny stood bolt upright and headed for his office. "I'm going to call Toast, see what he found. Then we'll have to talk to Abby Banks." Steve watched Danny's retreating form.

As Catherine followed him into his office, she took in the set of Steve's shoulders and his white knuckles as he gripped his badge. "I can interview Abby, Steve. Or I can wait for Kono and we can go together. She'll be back from Maui in the morning." Catherine took a quick look, and seeing the empty bullpen, broke their 'no PDA at work' rule. Her hand slid to the small of his back as she spoke, and she immediately felt the muscles unclench under her palm "Don't let Danny do this one. Abby looks like she could be Grace's sister. I know he can handle it, but he did the other interview and you know how this case is affecting him. Let me go."

Steve met her eyes but said nothing for a few seconds. "Cath, I …"

"Please?" She didn't voice how the last and youngest victim's resemblance to Grace had affected Steve more than he'd let on to anyone other than her.

"Okay."

"Really?" She'd expected a protest.

"Okay, _but_ I'm coming with you."

"Steve, I …"

He gently reached for her hand as it was rubbing circles on his back, and held it for a few heartbeats. "I know you can do this, it's just … I need to be there. You can conduct the interview. If Abby's more comfortable, I'll even wait outside, but I have to…" He let the sentence fade.

"Alright, I get it. I also know how seeing that girl's resemblance to Grace, even if she's got nearly ten years on her, made _me_ want to vomit and I know how much _you_ love Gracie. Not that every single victim isn't equally important, but this just hits close." Catherine stepped nearer and Steve could the feel her familiar warmth. It calmed him and he relaxed ever so slightly.

"Let's go." Steve blew out a breath. He checked his SIG and grabbed his keys just as Danny entered his office.

"Steve, I…" Danny looked at his teammates and friends.

"Danny, we're going to talk to Abby Banks. I'm gonna have Cath take lead because Abby may connect better with her."

Danny Williams knew exactly what his partner was doing. And while he'd do whatever was needed to bring this bastard down, he appreciated with every fiber of his being not having to talk to a victim who so resembled his daughter. "Okay, I'll wait for Toast. He said he's got something to show us. Chin can run down whatever leads his info points to."

"Call if you get anything." Steve was halfway out the door, Catherine two steps behind. She briefly touched Danny's arm in passing. When Danny's quiet "Thanks." reached their ears, a curt nod from his best friend and a chin-tilt from Cath were his only replies. They were all he needed.

.

**Abby Banks' dorm room  
5:00 p.m.**

While Abby resembled Grace Williams a bit less in person, the resemblance was very strong nonetheless. Steve found himself looking away from the framed desk photo of her in a high school cheerleading uniform because he could hear, "Watch this, Uncle Steve!" ringing in his head from when he'd picked Gracie up from cheer practice last week and she'd showed him a new tumbling sequence.

Abby Banks' huge brown eyes tracked Catherine and Steve into the room as she indicated they should sit on the chairs she'd pulled away from her own and her roommate's desks.

Abby had long brown hair and fair skin. Her slender dancer's build was swathed in loose yoga pants and a t-shirt so oversized that it would have easily fit Steve. "Please, sit. My sister said you needed to talk to me. My parents won't have to …" She bit at her lip, "My parents … my _dad_ … he can't … _please_ …" her haunted eyes looked everywhere but at Steve. "I know I was stupid, Johnny said … he … I thought he loved …"

When a choked sob escaped her lips and fresh tears filled Abby's brown eyes, Catherine saw Steve's jaw muscles tighten and his fists clench at his sides. She waited until the crying slowed before she quietly commented, "I noticed your sister was wearing the same necklace in her photo."

Abby's hand drifted absently to her throat and her red rimmed eyes flitted to Catherine's for the first time. "My Grandma gave them to us when we moved to Hawaii; to my sister and me. I came to school here because my sister Clare lives here. We're really close." She shifted on the bed. Stood, and then took her seat again, drawing her knees to her chin and clasping her arms around them. "When Clare left home to move to Honolulu, Grandma gave her the necklace. When she knew I'd be coming to Chaminade, she gave me the same necklace at my high school graduation." Abby's fingers danced over the thin gold chain with a horizontal arrow that sat high on her neck. "Grandma said we should always remember they're pointing us toward her heart."

Catherine and Steve exchanged a glance but neither spoke.

Abby actually focused on Catherine. "Oh," A hint of a smile graced the girl's tear stained face. Talking about a familiar object like the necklace had grounded her a bit. "You have one, too."

Catherine nodded, thinking back to when Steve gave her the arrow necklace, seven years ago on a rare occasion when they'd managed to meet up on her actual birthday. They'd always had a running joke that while other people set watches, they set compasses to meet each other.

She'd been so thrilled by his gift; it had brought tears to her eyes. After thanking him twice, Catherine had immediately asked Steve to put it on for her, right there in the hotel bar where they'd met from opposite sides of the globe. Both still in BDUs, both desperate get upstairs and be alone in the room which they'd been told wasn't quite ready.

"I figure if you can't find a compass, the arrow will point you in my direction." Steve told her, his handsome features lit by a beautiful smile, the result of Cath's obvious joy at his gift.

She'd said, "Seems we found _each other_ this time, Sailor." Her breath hitching as his hands brushed her skin to fasten the clasp.

"I'll _always_ find you, Cath." He'd answered quietly, his lips brushing her ear; his voice rumbling through her, melting her heart.

.

"… from your boyfriend?" Catherine shook herself from the memory at Abby's question.

"Oh, um, yes, actually. Although, he wasn't technically my boyfriend at the time." She smiled gently.

"That's nice. Bet _he's_ a great guy. Not like Johnny …" She whispered as a new wave of tears began. Abby motioned for Catherine to move her chair closer and angled her laptop where she could see it. Steve remained rooted to his seat, keeping the screen well out of his sight-line.

"This is the link that was emailed to me. It took me to the … site … I can't believe I let him talk me into it. I was so uncomfortable. I feel so stupid. He said no one would ever see it but us." She swiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "My _sister_ saw it." She whispered.

The screen in front of Catherine lit up. The first few frames were of Abby and Oonishi, he was in boxers; she wore a bikini top and jeans.

/

Abby's voice sounded tinny on the laptop's speaker and it wavered uncertainly. "I think I changed my mind, Johnny, I don't …"

His wheedling voice cut her off "you _promised, _Abbs. It'll be something we can keep and you can remember when you get old and you don't look hot anymore."

'_Asshole'_ Catherine thought as she gritted her teeth. She saw the vein in Steve's neck grow more prominent as he clenched his teeth to keep a lock on the anger that was blazing in his eyes.

In the video, Abby's voice continued "… only doing this is for you, I don't wanna watch it after … why do you even want to video me … us? It's not like I'm a Victoria's Secret model." Abby gave a self-conscious laugh that sounded more like a choke.

Oonishi's voice could melt butter. "Because you're special, Babe. Now, let's get those pants off…"

/

Steve McGarrett felt like his blood was boiling in his veins. No wonder Catherine tried to spare Danny this atrocity after she'd seen the screen captures. Steve's fingers twitched. He wanted to reach through the laptop and choke Johnny Oonishi until he turned blue. Instead, bent forward and snapped it closed, cutting off the video. Abby startled and her tear-filled brown eyes met his, her arms tightly hugging her thin body.

"That's enough." Steve said in a tight voice. "You were clearly being coerced; I … we … don't need to hear anymore." He stood. "Abby, why don't you tell Catherine what you can, we need to know enough about Oonishi to try and locate him. I'm going to step out, I have a few calls to make."

The almost inaudible, "Thank you, Commander" that Abby whispered, combined with the grateful look she gave Steve made him attempt an encouraging smile before turning to Catherine. They silently communicated that that she had it under control and he exited the room.

Catherine looked away from Steve and tentatively reached for the girl's hand. Not sure if she would recoil from the touch or welcome it. She was surprised when Abby grasped her fingers, took a breath, and as the door to her room closed behind Steve, began to speak in a shaky voice. "I can do this, Ms. Rollins, I can. What do you need to know?"

/

**Steve McGarrett's Truck  
En route to HQ 6:00 p.m.**

The muscles in his forearms were rigid and Steve's grip on the wheel was tight enough to whiten his knuckles. He listened as Catherine completed briefing Danny and Chin via the speaker phone.

"Oonishi moved a lot, had trouble paying the rent. The last place she knew he was staying was with a friend from his job named Lyle. Abby's never met him. She doesn't have a last name."

"On it." Chin said. "We'll get a name and a location."

/

**Kono's Cruise  
En route to Jade Beach Apartments  
7:00 p.m.**

"So, Mark Taylor backed up everything his wife said?" Chin asked as he and Kono drove to Oonishi's last known address.

When Kono reported back to HQ from Maui, she ran down the leads on Oonishi with Chin. They found he was currently living month-to-month at Jade Beach Apartments, an iffy complex in a shady-at-best area of the city.

"Yeah," Kono nodded. "He seems totally on the up-and-up. Clean service record, volunteers when he can. When his kids were younger and he was in the states, Taylor was their soccer coach. He completely backed up what Patricia told Catherine. He said she'd called him about the blackmail attempt, that they'd discussed it. She wasn't ashamed of a couple of photos from college and he wasn't upset, except in thinking _she'd_ be upset or that the blackmailer might try to contact her again. Patricia emailed the blackmailer, refusing to pay up and then she contacted HPD. They thought that was the end of it. Mark Taylor seems like a decent guy with a wife he totally trusts."

At the apartment complex, the cousins interviewed the residents in proximity to Oonishi's unit. While the super, Mrs. Kingsland and the next door neighbor both claimed they hadn't seen Johnny Oonishi in days, Mrs. Kingsland told them he was due back the next day.

"He'd better get his scrawny ass back by tomorrow. Rent was due today." Was what Jilly Kingsland groused to Kono.

"If he returns sooner, Ma'am, please call us." Chin told the 60-something woman who was frowning at them through a cloud of cigarette smoke.

"There a reward?" She studied the card.

"No, Ma'am, we just want to talk to him."

"Yeah, well, okay." She huffed and slammed the door.

"Well, good day to you, too, Aunty." Kono muttered as they made their way back to her car.

"I'll call Steve." Chin said as they drove away. "He'll want us back here in the morning, I'm sure."

After two days of running down leads on the Lally/Warner case, Steve told Chin and Kono to go home after their stop at Oonishi's apartment and the team finally broke at 9:00 p.m. to get some rest.

/

**McGarrett/Rollins Residence  
Wednesday, 10:00 p.m.**

They'd decided to shower at HQ since they'd been there so late, and after getting home, as Catherine went to drop their work clothes into the laundry area of the garage, Steve opened the refrigerator and grabbed a takeout container, sniffing its contents.

Catherine came up behind him. "That's old, Steve." She put her hand on his back and he straightened.

"Ya think?" He tossed it in the trash. "How about eggs? We have a couple of steaks and some fish but …" He let the sentence hang.

"… I'm too tired to cook, too." She took up his thought.

Steve smiled at her ability to finish his sentence. "Go change for bed, I'll make omelets." Steve reached in to grab the eggs, a few mushrooms, a green pepper and some cheese.

"No, I'll help, you're just as tired." She kissed his jaw. "And if I climb upstairs, I may not make it back down." Catherine grinned. She took a pan and added cooking spray as Steve began to beat the eggs.

"We'll catch up to Oonishi tomorrow. If we can get enough on the webmaster, Erikson, we can take him down for extortion. Maybe depraved indifference." Steve spoke as he cooked and Catherine cleaned up the ingredients. "And If I can connect him to Erikson, I'll take that little bastard Oonishi down for extortion, too." Steve spat. He wanted Oonishi for what he'd done to Abby Banks. Catherine could see his eyes flash as he spoke.

"We'll get him, Steve." She placed her hand between his shoulder blades and he visibly relaxed. "Those look done." She nodded at the pan, bringing him back to the moment.

"You're right." He smiled at her as Catherine took out plates & silverware. "Let's eat upstairs." Steve said and grabbed a tray from the sideboard.

"Good idea." She led the way.

.

**Bedroom  
10:45 p.m.**

Catherine made to gather the dishes. "Leave 'em." Steve said and pulled her back. "I'll wash them in the morning." She relaxed against the headboard as he put the dishes and forks onto the tray and set it on the night table.

"Deal." She smiled and pushed down the comforter.

As Steve sat next to her, she could see a question in his eyes. "Steve?" She encouraged.

"You think Danny's okay?" He lay against the pillows and she moved to face him. There it was. He was worried about his partner.

"I think he's upset. Danny always takes cases with kids hard, but Abby's resemblance to Grace was …" She searched for a word "distressing, even for us." Catherine moved to place a kiss on Steve's shoulder and settled back down. "I also think he'll be okay. He's home. He's with Grace. That's exactly what he needs. They made slice-and-bake cookies."

Steve raised an eyebrow and she shrugged. "I texted Grace when we got home. I said I wanted to know what color suit she was wearing to the water-park Saturday. I asked where Danny was. She said he was getting the cookie sheets out."

Steve looked in awe at his girlfriend, "You…?"

"Just making sure." She shrugged "I was worried about him, I knew you'd be."

Steve kissed her. "You're amazing."

"He's family." Catherine said like no other explanation was necessary. "How are _you_ with this?" She asked sincerely.

"I'm goo…" Steve stopped at her look. "I'm … okay." He admitted. "When that kid looked at me, Cath, I couldn't help it, I thought of Gracie. If anyone ever hurt her ... I'd … I …" Steve ran a hand over his eyes. "I wanted to find him right then and kill him."

"And you didn't." Catherine placed her palm against his cheek and he smiled tiredly.

"Five years ago I might have." His eyes held hers. She was the only person he could say that to.

"Five years ago you wouldn't have associated Abby with Grace." If he didn't realize why, she'd remind him.

"True." She knew him so well. He would have been quicker to act on his anger in the past. But he didn't have a 'family' then. "Thanks." He turned into her hand and kissed it.

She smiled and kissed him, with intent this time. When kissed her back, fervently, she could feel more tension leaving him. "Thought you were tired?" Catherine teased as his fingers ran up and down her arm.

"Not _that_ tired." Steve countered. He pulled her closer, and his smile almost reached his eyes.

.

**Thursday 8:00 a.m.  
Camaro**

"Steve, we located Bud Erikson. Kono tracked him to an internet café. We're on the way to pick him up now." Chin's voice came through the Camaro's speakers as Steve and Danny drove toward Johnny's Oonishi's apartment. "Great, tell Kono good work. We're going to talk to Oonishi. Keep us posted, and Chin…" Steve was interrupted by the caller ID. "Chin I've got Max on the other line; call us when Erikson's in custody."

Max's voice came over the line "Good morning, gentlemen. The Caroline Warner toxicology screen is complete, and I ran the additional tests. It seems Ms. Warner had a _very_ high level of Flunitrazepam, a commonly used date-rape drug, in her system. She would _not_ have been, in any capacity, able to get over a barrier and jump. She may have walked off that balcony, but she was assisted. I have every confidence that you are dealing with a homicide."

"Thanks, Max." Steve said and looked at Danny, who was already hitting Chin's speed dial number on the phone.

"Chin, listen, Max got the tox screen back. Caroline Warner was drugged. We're looking at a homicide. Do you have Erikson? Looks like he may have realized she was going to implicate him for extortion and killed her." Steve said.

"We have him in custody. We're on the way back to HQ now." Chin answered. In the back of Kono's Cruise, Erikson kept mumbling about not doing anything wrong, and how everyone else did stuff like that online. Chin glanced at him in the rear-view mirror. He was young and his five foot ten frame clearly carried at least 100 pounds of extra weight. His pasty complexion was that of a man who spent way too much time indoors at a computer.

"Good," Steve told Chin. "Danny and I are about 40 minutes out from The Jade Beach Apartments. Interrogate Erikson. Call me if he gives up anything." He instructed.

.

**Interrogation Room  
8:30 a.m.**

"We know, Erikson, we know Caroline Warner didn't jump on her own. What happened? Did she threaten you with the police? Or did she see you kill her ex, Joseph Lally and you had to kill her, too?" Chin confronted the webmaster of the site that had stared the spiral of revenge, blackmail and death.

"_What?! _No! Are you insane? I didn't _kill_ anyone!" Erikson strained against the chair he was cuffed to.

"Then how come two people, one who gave you photos of his ex and the ex, are both dead?" Kono spat at him, her eyes cold.

"Lady, I didn't kill them! I'm a web programmer. Look at me, for Christ's sake! Do I look like I could murder two people at once?" Erikson was sweating, his dark hair matted to his forehead.

"Well, you're going to prison for a double homicide, so… You have the right to remain …" Chin began.

"Wait!" The programmer stopped him. "Look, it was Oonishi, okay?" He shook his head. "Screw that little bastard; I'm not going down for this. He did it! He went with me to talk to Jo-Jo Lally. Lally wouldn't listen to reason. We told him to just shut the hell up. Let us contact his ex and warn her if she went to the cops we'd keep the photos and have them delivered to her kid when he turned eighteen. That'd keep her quiet and us safe. Lally freaked and said that it was his kid, too, he'd never go along with that, and then it got ugly.

Oonishi said 'screw this!' and pretended he was leaving. When Lally sat down, Oonishi grabbed the letter opener and went at him with it. Lally tried to stand and fight back, and next thing I knew he was dead. Just then, Lally's ex walked in, screaming about him ruining her life. She sees him dead and _she_ freaks out.

So we make like we're friends of his, that we called the cops after we found him and we'd wait with her. Oonishi offered her water and he must have put some shit in it because in like ten minutes she was so out of it she was staggering. I got the hell outta dodge."

Chin and Kono exchanged a look. If Erikson was telling the truth and he didn't kill Jo-Jo Lally and Caroline Warner, that meant Oonishi did. "I'll call Steve" Chin said, while Kono read Erikson his rights.

"Hey! One more thing," Erikson called after Chin. "Oonishi said he was gonna get his ex and her sister. He was going to grab the ex after she got out of class today." He looked from Chin to Kono. "Can I get a deal or some …" His sentence was cut off when Kono traded his cuffs for zip ties that she fastened a bit tighter than usual, then handed him off to the HPD officers waiting outside of interrogation.

.

**8:40 a.m.**

"Chin?" Steve said by way of answering the car's Bluetooth. "You get anything?'

Chin explained, "He confessed to blackmail and to being an accessory, but Steve, he said it wasn't Warner who killed Lally, it was Oonishi. He killed them both."

"Oonishi?" Steve and Danny said together.

"_He_ stabbed Lally. Oonishi is short enough that the 'standing and moving into the weapon' theory works with him as the murderer. It seems Warner came upon the murder and they convinced her they were friends who found him. Oonishi offered her water laced with Flunitrazepam and after Erikson ran, he must have coaxed her outside and confused her into thinking she was safe. That's why it looked like she jumped. She had no fear because she was so out of it." Chin took a breath. "Steve, he's going after Abby Banks."

Steve hit the siren and, flooring the gas, made for the Jade Beach Apartments while turning to Danny. "Call Catherine, she's due to meet Clare Banks in a few minutes. That's only a couple of miles away. Get her to meet us at Jade Beach."

.

**Jade Beach Apartments **

The yelling from the apartment could be heard yards away. The door was ajar and Steve, Danny and Catherine could see Johnny Oonishi holding Abby Banks around the waist with a blade in his hand, screaming at her for ruining everything by breaking up with him. Abby looked frozen in place. Not crying, not speaking.

Steve signaled for Catherine to go around and cover the tiny apartment's only window while Danny followed him to the door.

At the sound of "Five-0! On your knees!" Johnny Oonishi took one glance at the imposing figure of Steve McGarret in a firing stance and inadvertently created the best case scenario for the team. He shoved his hostage at Steve and turned to bolt.

Abby stumbled past Steve and Danny caught her. "GO! I've got her!" He yelled to his partner while looking the girl over for injuries, asking. "Are you okay?"

At her nod, Danny ran her out to the HPD cars that were pulling up. "Stay with her!" He called to the officers and ran inside to back up Steve.

With Abby out of danger, they were free to take Oonishi down. Before he'd reached the window, Steve had his feet out from under him with a quick swipe and he hit the ground, hard. Still not shutting up, he began a tirade from his place on the filthy rug, "She _let_ me make that video! I didn't do anything wrong!" He ranted.

"She sure as hell didn't _let_ you post that shit with her name and address and then email it out, you little bastard." Steve's voice dripped venom.

"She _dumped_ me!" He said as though that explained his actions.

Catherine entered the room as Danny said, "And what about the blackmail? Is that her fault, too? Bud Erikson gave you up, Johnny. He said you were in on the whole scam."

"In on it? That idiot was gonna let them go to the cops!" His eyes were wild as they flew between the three team members who were looking down at him in the small room. "Jo-Jo was gonna expose me. His ex accused him of posting the photos and he admitted it, but when she talked about the money, the jerk told her the truth; that it was me and Buddy. No way I was gonna chance goin' to prison. And it almost worked out. Even after he wouldn't let me use telling the kid as a threat and I had to kill him. It would have looked like that stupid bitch killed herself, because _she_ killed Jo-Jo and thought the kid was better off without her."

Oonishi's eyes were wild as he continued thrashing on the floor. "And my ex? That bitch would have paid up, too. Not that it was about money in the beginning. It was to teach her a lesson. See how well she fits in at that snotty catholic college and how long she lasted with the asshole she dumped me for after everyone saw the video. The money part only started after I realized what Buddy was doing and wanted in. If Abby's damn sister didn't get her nose all up in everything, it would have worked. This is _her_ fault."

Danny Williams' blue eyes were wild with anger and Catherine could see him fighting to maintain control as he said "_Fault?!_ You want to talk about _fault_? You _scum!_ You're lucky you're not dead."

Catherine glanced at Danny and at Steve's nod, held her weapon on Johnny as the detective flipped and cuffed him. "Jonathan Oonishi, you are under arrest for homicide, kidnapping, aggravated assault and extortion. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed ..." She began.

"Ow! Hey!" Johnny whined as Danny lifted him by the hair and marched him to the HPD car.

"Get in, asshole." Danny shoved him into the back seat and slammed the door with enough force to rattle the window glass. He tapped on the car twice to tell the officer to drive away. As the car pulled out of the lot, he scrubbed his face with both hands and checked his watch. 11:45 a.m. – it felt like midnight.

Steve and Catherine came up beside him. "We're good here, Danny." Steve said quietly. "Ya know what? Go see Gracie. Pick her up early, buy her lunch. Take the rest of day; I'll ride back with Cath."

Danny was lost in thought and shook his head. Danny never took off, but today he saw something in his best friend's eyes that told him not to argue. "Uh, yeah. Yeah. I think I will. Thanks." He started to step away then walked back to his friends. "Cath? Thanks for doing the interview with Abby. Would you tell her that piece of crap confessed; the video won't need to be shown in court."

"Of course." Catherine smiled at him. "And I'll tell her it's as gone as I can make it be, internet-wise. Kono even had Toast do a 'burial' check."

"You're a good person, you know that?" Danny squeezed Catherine's shoulder.

She shrugged. "Why complicate Abby's life any further?"

"Yeah." Danny smiled for the first time in days.

"Go home, Danny. Tell Gracie we said we'll see her Saturday. We're still on for the water park, right?" Steve said to lighten the mood as they began walking toward their cars.

"Are you kidding? It's all she's been talking about since Monday." Appreciating what his best friend was doing, Danny offered another tired grin.

Catherine saw the clouds begin to leave her friend's blue eyes and smiled back. "Great. Tell her I'll text her later, okay? She likes to coordinate bathing suit colors." When they reached the cars, parked haphazardly next to each other in the deserted lot, Cath gave Danny a brief hug. "Get out of here."

Danny started the Camaro and punched in Grace's number. Seeing his daughter's face on the call screen, his smile actually reached his eyes as he switched on the car's Bluetooth. "Hey Monkey." Steve and Catherine heard him say. "We just finished up … of course we got the bad guy … yes, we're all fine. Listen, I'm gonna come get you in twenty. No occasion, I just want to see my beautiful daughter. You have two study periods this afternoon, so you're not missing class. Besides, I could really use a hug."

Danny's eyes took in his friends as he spoke. Steve and Catherine were standing next to her car. Steve looked less tense than he had since interviewing Abby. He had his arm around Catherine's shoulders and her arm was around his waist.

Steve motioned for him to say hi to Grace and Danny nodded, catching Steve's eyes as he continued, "Uncle Steve and Aunty Cath say 'hi'. Hey, what do you say we get a pizza for dinner? Danno's a little too tired to cook tonight. And we'll invite your Aunt and Uncle. I think they could both use one of your hugs …"

His friends' immediate smiles told Danny he'd made the right choice, and that maybe they needed a little time with Grace almost as much as he did.

His last words were faded as he pulled away, but caused Steve and Catherine to share a grin as they reached their ears. "_Absolutely_ not. I don't care _what_ Uncle Steve says, we're getting plain and pepperoni only…"

/

/

End. Thanks for reading. ~ Mari


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